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tenlittlebullets) wrote2010-07-02 07:28 pm
tenlittlebullets) wrote2010-07-02 07:28 pm
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Les Mis 1980 soundboard: Act II
'Bout time, don'tcha think? Act I was only in, liek, November.
So, for those who have just joined us: it is a summary/transcription type thing of the 1980 Palais des Sports version of Les Mis, as heard on a soundboard recording of the actual show. Quite different from the OFC.
Act II opens with the "barricade music" that accompanies the giant barricade sets as they roll into place in the current production right after On My Own. It leads into an interesting instrumental variation of Do You Hear the People Sing that I really like, followed by the male ensemble humming the chorus. Then, to the tune of "Upon These Stones," a summary recounted by the barricade boys of how the beginning of the revolt (Lamarque's funeral, etc) played out. And Marius talking about how he's going to deliberately get himself killed by throwing himself into the battle.
Then "Souviens-toi..."/"Drink With Me" as on the OFC. No "Night of Anguish," though, it goes directly from Marius angsting to "Souviens-toi."
That goes directly to "La Faute à Voltaire," which starts with the "Je suis tombé sur terre, même Dieu ne sait pas comment" verse. The chorus and the following verses are full of laughter and some noises that suggest Gavroche is causing mischief at the barricade (as in the Barbican version) and that the students are the ones singing the chorus.
Then Javert's arrival, similar to the current version in form but apparently Javert is volunteering and hasn't previously been sent on a spy mission. In the part that corresponds to "I have overheard their plans..." he pledges his allegiance to the Revolution with the lyrics to "A la volonté du peuple, je fais don de ma volonté..."
Gavroche's unmasking of Javert is similar to the Barbican bootlegs (starts in a minor key, etc) and the chorus comes in, in unison, to condemn Javert. It's the same tune as "Take that bastard now and shoot him," but it's very obviously meant as a throwback to "Tell me quickly what's the story" and the crowd's condemnation of Fantine in the arrest scene. Javert's replies are also lyrical throwbacks to "Dites-moi ce qui se passe."
"Un peu de sang qui pleure" follows immediately, with an intro similar to the ALFOR intro in the current show.
Then "Night of Anguish," with the lyrics as on the OFC, and after "...quand les cartes du jeu sont truquées," there's a reprise of "Souviens-toi..." (without "C'est peut-être le dernier..." afterwards)
Then Valjean's arrival. He gets a solo, on the tune of the "Who Am I"/"Comment faire" intro, about giving Cosette up to Marius, before the first attack (which is similar to the current version).
Then, bizarrely, Valjean letting Javert go, without any previous conversation about how Valjean gets to kill the spy--and then Javert's suicide, spoken instead of sung up to "pourquoi ai-je permis à cet homme," which is where the music starts. There is an interesting play on words--when Valjean lets Javert go, Javert says "je ne marche pas," which is an informal way of saying "I don't buy it," to refuse what he thinks is a deal. He then repeats it at the beginning of the suicide (it's there on the OFC, it's the first line of Noir ou Blanc), only this time it has overtones of "I don't work/function," as for a broken machine.
The end of the suicide segues into Gavroche's death, just as on the OFC, without hearing any gunshots or anything.
Apparently the barricade scenes end with Gavroche's death, because afterwards we get an orchestral interlude based on "Marius et M. Gillenormand." That song itself has an intro that's nothing like anything else in the show except maybe Every Day a little bit, with M. Gillenormand and a woman--Mlle Gillenormand, I assume--singing over Marius' sickbed. Marius wakes up, apparently for the first time since the barricades, and has a conversation with the Gillenormands to the tune of Every Day that sets up the plot point of the missing ring. The AHFOL reprise is Marius asking for and obtaining his grandfather's permission to marry Cosette. Then we get "Marius et M. Gillenormand" as on the OFC.
The wedding chorale is orchestral on this soundboard--I'm not sure if that was changed between the soundboard and the recording of the OFC, or if this is an orchestra rehearsal spliced in, or what. It's one of several spots on this recording (including the Plumet attack) that are mysteriously orchestra-only. Afterwards we get Valjean's confession as on the OFC, more orchestral interlude that isn't similar to anything currently in the show. "Marchandage et révélation" is just like on the OFC, with an intro that isn't on the recording but is similar to the current version (down to the reference to Eponine).
The beginning of the finale has an equivalent of "alone, I wait in the shadows." And I am starting to get resentful of "Bring Him Home" for replacing so much prime material on Valjean's relationship to Cosette. Musically it's quite boring, but book-wise it's essential and I'm unhappy that they cut it. Instead of the BHH reprise we get this:
Je vais entrer dans la nuit seul,
Comme un cadavre sans son linceuil,
J'avais rêvé revivre encore en son sourire
Avant de mourir
Mon Dieu, qui entendez peut-être
Les cris muets[?] de tout mon être
Bénissez Cosette et le mari
Qu'elle a choisi
Le seau trop lourd pour elle qu'elle traînait dans la nuit
Je l'ai, de tout mon coeur, porté toute ma vie
Le temps peut venir pour un père de mourir
Quand il a, de sa fille, preservé l'avenir
En lui cachant bien ses blessures
Parce que l'ingratitude est loi de la nature
I will enter the night alone,
Like a corpse without its shroud,
I had dreamed of living again in her smile
Before I died
My God, who perhaps can hear
The silent cries of my whole being,
Bless Cosette and the husband
That she has chosen
The bucket, too heavy for her, that she was dragging in the night
I have, with all my heart, carried it my whole life
The time may come for a father to die
When he has preserved his daughter's future
While hiding his wounds from her
Because ingratitude is a law of nature
Marius and Cosette's entrance ("Papa, papa, I do not understand") is similar to the current version both musically and lyrically, and is followed by the finale as it is on the OFC. Except that Valjean dies with a scream and a thunderstorm outside. I don't even know, maybe it's one of Robert Hossein's weird things, it was there in the 1982 film version too.
So, for those who have just joined us: it is a summary/transcription type thing of the 1980 Palais des Sports version of Les Mis, as heard on a soundboard recording of the actual show. Quite different from the OFC.
Act II opens with the "barricade music" that accompanies the giant barricade sets as they roll into place in the current production right after On My Own. It leads into an interesting instrumental variation of Do You Hear the People Sing that I really like, followed by the male ensemble humming the chorus. Then, to the tune of "Upon These Stones," a summary recounted by the barricade boys of how the beginning of the revolt (Lamarque's funeral, etc) played out. And Marius talking about how he's going to deliberately get himself killed by throwing himself into the battle.
Then "Souviens-toi..."/"Drink With Me" as on the OFC. No "Night of Anguish," though, it goes directly from Marius angsting to "Souviens-toi."
That goes directly to "La Faute à Voltaire," which starts with the "Je suis tombé sur terre, même Dieu ne sait pas comment" verse. The chorus and the following verses are full of laughter and some noises that suggest Gavroche is causing mischief at the barricade (as in the Barbican version) and that the students are the ones singing the chorus.
Then Javert's arrival, similar to the current version in form but apparently Javert is volunteering and hasn't previously been sent on a spy mission. In the part that corresponds to "I have overheard their plans..." he pledges his allegiance to the Revolution with the lyrics to "A la volonté du peuple, je fais don de ma volonté..."
Gavroche's unmasking of Javert is similar to the Barbican bootlegs (starts in a minor key, etc) and the chorus comes in, in unison, to condemn Javert. It's the same tune as "Take that bastard now and shoot him," but it's very obviously meant as a throwback to "Tell me quickly what's the story" and the crowd's condemnation of Fantine in the arrest scene. Javert's replies are also lyrical throwbacks to "Dites-moi ce qui se passe."
"Un peu de sang qui pleure" follows immediately, with an intro similar to the ALFOR intro in the current show.
Then "Night of Anguish," with the lyrics as on the OFC, and after "...quand les cartes du jeu sont truquées," there's a reprise of "Souviens-toi..." (without "C'est peut-être le dernier..." afterwards)
Then Valjean's arrival. He gets a solo, on the tune of the "Who Am I"/"Comment faire" intro, about giving Cosette up to Marius, before the first attack (which is similar to the current version).
Then, bizarrely, Valjean letting Javert go, without any previous conversation about how Valjean gets to kill the spy--and then Javert's suicide, spoken instead of sung up to "pourquoi ai-je permis à cet homme," which is where the music starts. There is an interesting play on words--when Valjean lets Javert go, Javert says "je ne marche pas," which is an informal way of saying "I don't buy it," to refuse what he thinks is a deal. He then repeats it at the beginning of the suicide (it's there on the OFC, it's the first line of Noir ou Blanc), only this time it has overtones of "I don't work/function," as for a broken machine.
The end of the suicide segues into Gavroche's death, just as on the OFC, without hearing any gunshots or anything.
Apparently the barricade scenes end with Gavroche's death, because afterwards we get an orchestral interlude based on "Marius et M. Gillenormand." That song itself has an intro that's nothing like anything else in the show except maybe Every Day a little bit, with M. Gillenormand and a woman--Mlle Gillenormand, I assume--singing over Marius' sickbed. Marius wakes up, apparently for the first time since the barricades, and has a conversation with the Gillenormands to the tune of Every Day that sets up the plot point of the missing ring. The AHFOL reprise is Marius asking for and obtaining his grandfather's permission to marry Cosette. Then we get "Marius et M. Gillenormand" as on the OFC.
The wedding chorale is orchestral on this soundboard--I'm not sure if that was changed between the soundboard and the recording of the OFC, or if this is an orchestra rehearsal spliced in, or what. It's one of several spots on this recording (including the Plumet attack) that are mysteriously orchestra-only. Afterwards we get Valjean's confession as on the OFC, more orchestral interlude that isn't similar to anything currently in the show. "Marchandage et révélation" is just like on the OFC, with an intro that isn't on the recording but is similar to the current version (down to the reference to Eponine).
The beginning of the finale has an equivalent of "alone, I wait in the shadows." And I am starting to get resentful of "Bring Him Home" for replacing so much prime material on Valjean's relationship to Cosette. Musically it's quite boring, but book-wise it's essential and I'm unhappy that they cut it. Instead of the BHH reprise we get this:
Je vais entrer dans la nuit seul,
Comme un cadavre sans son linceuil,
J'avais rêvé revivre encore en son sourire
Avant de mourir
Mon Dieu, qui entendez peut-être
Les cris muets[?] de tout mon être
Bénissez Cosette et le mari
Qu'elle a choisi
Le seau trop lourd pour elle qu'elle traînait dans la nuit
Je l'ai, de tout mon coeur, porté toute ma vie
Le temps peut venir pour un père de mourir
Quand il a, de sa fille, preservé l'avenir
En lui cachant bien ses blessures
Parce que l'ingratitude est loi de la nature
I will enter the night alone,
Like a corpse without its shroud,
I had dreamed of living again in her smile
Before I died
My God, who perhaps can hear
The silent cries of my whole being,
Bless Cosette and the husband
That she has chosen
The bucket, too heavy for her, that she was dragging in the night
I have, with all my heart, carried it my whole life
The time may come for a father to die
When he has preserved his daughter's future
While hiding his wounds from her
Because ingratitude is a law of nature
Marius and Cosette's entrance ("Papa, papa, I do not understand") is similar to the current version both musically and lyrically, and is followed by the finale as it is on the OFC. Except that Valjean dies with a scream and a thunderstorm outside. I don't even know, maybe it's one of Robert Hossein's weird things, it was there in the 1982 film version too.